A Rational Cosmology: The Model of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

This is Essay XLIV of Mr. Stolyarov's series, "A Rational Cosmology," which seeks to present objective, absolute, rationally grounded views of terms such as universe, matter, volume, space, time, motion, sound, light, forces, fields, and even the higher-order concepts of life, consciousness, and volition. See the index of all the essays in "A Rational Cosmology" here.

The electromagnetic spectrum has been often employed to quantify various types of light so as to relate them to each other in magnitude. The unit of measurement for said spectrum has been either a frequency or a wavelength, implying a preconceived notion on the part of the physicists designing the spectrum that light is a wave. Even though this designation has been shown to be incorrect, this does not mean that the quantitative relationships referred to on the spectrum are similarly incorrect.

If yellow light is said to have a wavelength of 600 nanometers and violet light -- one of 400 nanometers, the true statement in that claim is that the ratio of units of magnitude of yellow light to violet light is three to two.

The error made is simply in the name of the unit, since the span of each unit is selected arbitrarily, and the magnitude of violet light could well be selected to be 400 of a unit thus defined, with the stipulation, as always, that the units be uniform and that their proportionality reflect the actual proportionality of the magnitudes of the existents they describe.

A similar error might be conceivable if another confused society decided to conflate time with mass, and measure time in kilograms. Though the unit of measurement might be wrong, the internal consistency of the time-measuring system might in fact be accurate.

If a given period of time were said to have a unit of a kilogram, and a period of time twice as long -- a unit of two kilograms, then the system can still give us an accurate tool for relating units of time to each other. It is only needed to substitute "second" or another appropriate name for "kilogram," and the system will work flawlessly.